Rural and islands housing: action plan

Summary of Actions and Timeline for Delivery

Our actions are based on short, medium and long-term priorities:

Short – 0-9 months

Medium – 10-24 months

Long – 24+ months

Enabling the Delivery of More High-Quality Affordable Homes

Timescale: Medium-long

We will work with stakeholders to monitor implementation of National Planning Framework 4 national planning policies through its accompanying Delivery Programme and reflect on the progress of new Local Development Plans as they are prepared, particularly how they respond to and align with policies in National Planning Framework 4.

Timescale: Medium

We will engage with Scottish Government agencies and relevant Non-Departmental Public Bodies to identify any surplus land and building assets that may support affordable housing.

We will continue to support the Community Settlement Officers in 2023-24 and will undertake a review of the potential benefits of the approach in building partnerships between public, private and community sectors in identifying land for housing.

Timescale: Short-Medium

We will build upon community capacity and knowledge of the Asset Transfer process, working collaboratively with communities, relevant authorities, and our partners including the National Asset Transfer Action Group. We will do this by encouraging the sharing of good practices such as named point of contacts at relevant authorities, and promoting transparent processes that place community ambitions at their core.

Timescale: Short

Where a local authority identifies specific constraints relating to the availability of suitable land to support the delivery of affordable homes, we will work collaboratively with them as well as landowners and other relevant stakeholders to identify additional land opportunities with the potential to support appropriate delivery.

We will introduce land reform legislation to further improve transparency of land ownership, help ensure large scale land holdings deliver in the public interest and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how land in their area is used.

We will undertake a review of suppliers’ current and planned gigabit-capable build, including inviting views from wider stakeholders.

We will continue to engage closely with Building Digital UK as progress is made towards the launch of the first Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland, which we expect before the end of 2023.

In 2023, we will consult on changes to building standards which would require developers to deploy and optimise digital connectivity in all new housing developments.

Making Best Use of Existing Homes and Support for Home Ownership

Timescale: Short-Medium

We will work with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, local authorities and owners to bring more empty homes in rural and island areas back into use, promoting available funding options, sharing best practice and identify opportunities for stronger collaboration.

In Summer 2024, we will commission independent research to support a review of affordable home ownership in remote, rural and island areas. We will consider the findings of this research and any recommendations to inform our next steps.

In 2024 we will take forward work to consider the justification for and practical operation of Compulsory Sales Orders, particularly in light of our commitment to reforming Compulsory Purchase Orders.

Timescale: Short

We will deliver secondary legislation to enable councils to apply up to a 100% premium on council tax rates for second homes from April 2024.

We will continue to work with local authorities to monitor the designation of short-term let control areas to understand and share learning about how these have enabled councils in different locations (urban and rural) to better manage the number of short-term lets. A more comprehensive update about the implementation of short-term lets regulation, covering both planning and licensing, for the different types of short-term lets will be carried out in 2025.

We will support and promote the wider use of rural housing burdens in the delivery of affordable housing. This will include working with lenders to explore their support for the use of rural housing burdens through Scottish Government funded affordable housing projects.

We have committed to reform and modernise compulsory purchase legislation in Scotland to make the system fairer, clearer and faster for all parties. As a first step we will appoint an expert advisory panel in 2023-24 to help inform the development of options for reform.

With further investment of £1.9 million in 2023–2024, we will continue to provide financial assistance to those crofters who wish to build or improve their croft house and will prioritise those who are most in need. We will also continue to review the scheme annually to assess its impact and effectiveness and ensure that it continues to provide much-needed support to active crofters.

Supporting Community-Led Development

Timescale: Short-Medium

We will review the Rural and Islands Housing Fund to allow feasibility funds to be released earlier, where required, to support local housing assessments that can help inform applications to the Scottish Land Fund.

Timescale: Short

We will strengthen operational links between the Scottish Land Fund and the Rural and Islands Housing Fund to more closely align decision making for communities.

We are providing a package of financial support, co-funded with Nationwide Foundation, of up to £960,000 over the period 2023-24 - 2025-26 to support the staff capacity and expertise across Communities Housing Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing to progress deliverable projects in their pipelines.

We will refresh Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan guidance in 2024 to include a focus on community-led housing. This will encourage stronger engagement at a local level between local authorities, registered social landlords, rural housing enablers and communities and require projects supported to be brought forward under the Rural and Islands Housing Fund to be identified in Strategic Housing Investment Plans.

We will develop guidance to support communities, local authorities and others to undertake local housing assessments based on best practice and robust methodology.

Housing and Local Economies

Timescale: Medium-Long

We will work with local authorities, enterprise agencies and business representatives including private developers to improve understanding of housing requirements arising from key sectors. We will seek to enable more housing provision through sharing of good practice and collaboration between employers and housing providers.

We will work with local authorities to deliver the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund to ensure that there is effective local engagement with local employers and registered social landlords to support the identification of additional homes for key workers.

Timescale: Short-Medium

Recognising the important role that housing plays in supporting rural and island economies, we will refresh Local Housing Strategy guidance in 2024 to strengthen links at a local level between housing and the economy.

We will work collaboratively with South of Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise through the housing sub-groups of the Regional Economic Partnership including consideration of future economic growth opportunities, housing delivery, construction and skills capacity and the broader role of the private sector in supporting and responding to housing requirements.

We will examine the potential and impact of modern methods of construction in rural and island areas over the next twelve months to establish benefits of such approaches (for example cost, time, quality, environmental and economic).

Working with Scotland Housing Network, we will ensure local authorities have appropriate policies in place for remote, rural and island areas to increase the supply of homes available to key workers including identifying appropriate sources of workforce data.

Timescale: Short

In 2023-24 undertake a review of the success and challenges of implementing the Island Skills and Repopulation projects delivered in Argyll & Bute, North Ayrshire, and the Western Isles. Working with partners, we will then explore how the approaches taken may offer opportunities to address skills and capacity issues in construction supply chains.